Why are the polar ice caps melting?

Question

I already know about the greenhouse effect, the CO2 in the atmoshphere, and natural phenominon cycle where the earth warms and cools, but is their anymore? And I just found out that the bright white snow reflects sunrays into the ocean ( if sunrays can reach the poles) making it warmer, but is their anymore reasons like that?

Answer 1

Are you asking a more specific question as to why in particular the polar icecaps are melting because of anthropogenic CO2?  If the answer to that is yes, the technical search string to put into google to find more information is "polar amplification global warming."  Here is a very good article on polar amplification written by an extremely smart woman:

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/arc...

Answer 2

The reasons you stated are the main causes. These causes combined create a snowball effect, that cause overall warming and instability in the ecosystem.

Answer 3

The global temp has increases a little over 1 degree in the last 100 years. But, the ice caps have been melting for the last 10,000 years. There is nothing out of the ordinary with the current melting. It is on pace with the natural melting for centuries.

http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/i...

Answer 4

because when we are in our cars that exhaust  smoke goes up in the air to the ozone layer which creates holes and it is letting more hot air in the earth which is  melting ice caps. and pretty soon all the animals that live in the north pole will all die because it will get to hot and everything will melt and they will die. if we don't take care of our earth some day  all humans will be exctinced.

Answer 5

The main reason is that global warming is a big scam manipulated by the governments worldwide to provoke panic attacks in societies and to control them with brainwashing techniques.

The most viable solution from the governments is to become addicted to Prozac.

My 2 cents.

Answer 6

I understand that the south pole is actually gaining ice and it's getting cooler there also.

The poles reflecting rays into the ocean sounds like Sand Box Science. Your science teacher needs to be fired.

If the earth ever flips on its axis 90°, then we'll have other issues to worry about besides melting ice caps.

Answer 7

The ice caps usually melt during interglacial periods like we're in now. The ice age could return at any time, the interglacial we're in now has already been longer than the average. If all the Arctic ice melts that's only a total of 3% of the Earth's ice, most of it is in Antarctica and Greenland, neither of which seem poised to melt quickly as Al Gore has caused many people to fear.

Sunlight hitting the ice isn't reflected into the ocean, most of it is reflected back into space, some being blocked on the way by various greenhouse gases. Overall, ice has a cooling effect since it does reflect solar radiation. It hasn't gotten warmer since at least 1998 and the past winter restored all of the recent ice losses. We'll have to wait and see if that ice survives the summer.

Some of the ice in Antarctica is warming due to volcanic activity below the ice pack, but fortunately there hasn't been an actual volcanic eruption there. That would be disastrous but it's also unlikely. Sea levels aren't rising any faster than they have in the past so the ice isn't melting dangerously fast either.

Answer 8

The effect has happened before.

Even during recorded history.

The Vikings lived in Greenland and raised sheep and crops there. They had villages.

Then, about the 12th or 13 th century, it started to get cold. Glaciers formed and Greenland became the ice covered wasteland we know of today.  Many in Europe died from a variety of cold related causes. In the Alps, the forming glaciers destroyed villages.

That "mini" ice age lasted until the last third of the 19th century. Earth has been warming ever since.

One possible contributing factor is likely to be ocean currents. Great Britain has always enjoyed relatively mild winters because of those currents, even though they are at a very northern latitude.

Recently those currents have changes course again and are carrying the warm tropical waters further north.

That may not be the only cause of global warming, but it is a significant factor.

History repeats itself.

Due to our life-styles, it will be inconvenient, but mankind has always prospered better when global temperatures are warmer.

Answer 9

We are in a period of warming, whether all natural or partly man caused.  The melting occurs every year.  As snow falls it forms glaciers or ice.  That ice that doesn't melt accumulates every year.  That ice that accumulates goes downhill to the ocean.  If it is floating anyway, it is probably pretty thin and subject to melting or near melting.   In the winter it freezes and the summer it melts.  That is the way it has been for millions of years.  We are fortunate though to be in a pretty warm period.

Answer 10

About !0,000 years ago global warming melted the glaciers that covered earth in the ice age ,I think the earth goes back and forth through these periods.

Answer 11

This is from a article I read.

If we keep using cars, the ice caps will melt and we'll all drown!" This is a myth, just as false as fearing the Sun will die as a result of using solar power. However, as often as I hear it--particularly from people who should know better--I thought I would address it here. First, here is a summary of the facts:

Despite what you may have been told, it has NOT been proven that human-caused global warming is occurring, and in fact there is substantial reason to reject such claims.

The best explanation for the evidence is that whatever global warming trend exists is mostly the result of natural influences like variations in the climate system and variations in solar radiation.

The suggestions that human activities will cause significant changes in global temperature and sea level in the next century are flawed predictions which haven't been confirmed by observations.

The solutions to this apparently non-existent problem proposed by environmentalists would not have a significant effect on climate, but they would cause a significant amount of human suffering.

Based on what we know now, in the next 100 years a rise in sea level of 0.1 meters (4 inches) would not be surprising; those predicting changes of 0.5-2 meters (1.5-7 feet) are using flawed models.

If all the icecaps in the world were to melt, sea level would rise about 60-75 meters (200-250 feet). This could not result from modern human activities, and from any realistic cause would take thousands of years to occur.

Answer 12

Why are the polar ice caps melting?

I already know about the greenhouse effect, the CO2 in the atmosphere, and natural phenomenon cycle where the earth warms and cools, but is their anymore?

Check this link: http://www.greatglobalwarmingswindle.com...

Watch this movie:

The Great Global Warming Swindle

Answer 13

Most of the history of the earth, since life first appeared on it, has been ice free, including the poles.

These warm periods are very stable, last for tens of millions of years, and are only interrupted by disasters which plunge the earth into "near death" experiences, called Ice Ages.

The way science teachers used to interpret the charts, was with the line in the middle, was to say that every thing below the middle line was major Ice Age, and every thing above the line was not.

Our current temperature is well below the middle line and much closer to the bottom than the top.

So, the polar ice caps are melting because they are supposed to be, and for no other reason.